Giant swarm of dragonflies spotted on radar over Pennsylvania

NWS Mount Holly says it's doubtful the insects will make it to the Philadelphia region

Radar of Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania showed a large formation this week that wasn't rain. Meteorologists and residents in these states determined the radar likely picked up a large swarm of dragonflies.

As Philadelphia begins to combat the arrival of the invasive spotted lanternfly, another insect potentially could be migrating our way in massive numbers this week.

Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Cleveland spotted an unusually large blob on their radar earlier this week, except it wasn't precipitation.

This is not rain being observed by the radars across IN/OH/PA today. Care to take a guess as to what is traversing the region? pic.twitter.com/yRbgPfHBuN

Jonathan O'Brien, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly told PhillyVoice on Thursday that it's not uncommon for radar to pick up biological matter. The Mount Holly station has posted in the past about birds, which are often seen on radar as they travel during the early morning hours.

A similar phenomenon occurred earlier this year when a massive bloom of ladybugs was detected by radar in the area of San Diego.

The large echo showing up on SoCal radar this evening is not precipitation, but actually a cloud of lady bugs termed a "bloom" #CAwxpic.twitter.com/1C0rt0in6z

As for the dragonflies, O'Brien doesn't believe the swarm will make it as far east as Philadelphia. He was unaware of a radar pattern showing the dragonflies and other insects in Eastern Pennsylvania or New Jersey.

"It's pretty unlikely," he said. "It seems unlikely they would have traveled as far as Philadelphia. We often do see insects and birds on our radar. It's one of the interesting things about the technology we have."

Please do NOT call 911 to report #SpottedLanternfly sightings. While they are a nuisance, they are not a police issue. And on that note, we, for one, would like to welcome our new insect overlords. Maybe they would like to build some nests on our vast concrete headquarters? pic.twitter.com/PXmCs4db0f